On the contrary, there are several tips to help your children learn to add and subtract, so that they not only get into the world of mathematics, but also have fun while they learn. Here are some examples of what you can do to help your children become familiar with addition and subtraction, so take note and dedicate a few hours a week to these recommendations so you will see the results:

Teaches the basic concepts of addition and subtraction using everyday objects to make visual and easy to understand examples. Colors and shapes are very useful for your little ones to become familiar with these mathematical operations. For example, you can try with clothespins adding or subtracting one at a time if they are colored, or if they are made of wood you can write an addition or subtraction on one of their sides (without writing the result) and on cardboard write several numbers so that the child can associate it with the correct one. 

Use Games and Playful Activities

Use games and playful activities to make this process fun for your child. Songs, educational stories for children, rhymes or riddles for children that have to do with numbers and small family activities in which they add or subtract, helps a lot to help the child to retain and be more agile when doing these operations. This will also help them to lose the fear of facing numbers.

Practice Regularly

Practice regularly with your child so that he/she can consolidate concepts and feel more confident in performing mathematical operations. Spend time with them, remember that this not only allows them to learn together with you, but also strengthens the bond between you both with quality time. Do not take that time as a personalized class, but as a way to share with your little one and go back to your childhood. Do you remember how you learned to add or subtract? Maybe it's a good time to share it with your child, you don't have to apply it, but it could be a special anecdote.

Use Didactic Materiales

Use didactic materials such as abacuses, counters or building blocks to make operations more visual and concrete. Remember that children are visual, make learning time enjoyable and look for tools that will help the child not to get bored, but on the contrary, awaken his or her interest and make him or her want to participate.

Positively Reinforce Effort and Progress

Positively reinforce your child's effort and progress, so that he feels motivated and confident in his abilities. Celebrate their small triumphs and when they make mistakes, don't scold them, be patient and explain how it is, once again. Give him/her time to clarify doubts, let him/her ask questions and always maintain a loving and understanding attitude towards him/her.

Use Common Situations

Use everyday situations to make examples of addition and subtraction, such as in the supermarket when shopping. Also with food or toys (counting them one at a time). You can also draw family members and count and add or subtract in each drawing, it even works if you list parts of the drawing and then add or subtract each part of the drawing (you can assign a number to each part of the drawing and then add or subtract them from each other).

Do Group Activities

Do group activities with other children so they can learn and practice together. Learning together helps them see it as a game and makes it easier, they can learn from each other and help each other, always in a dynamic and playful way.

Teach Mental arithmetic Techniques

Teach your child mental arithmetic techniques so that you can solve operations faster and more efficiently. You can play with your child to calculate the time with this educational watch from Kiddus. In addition to familiarizing him/her with the time, you will help him/her to make simple calculations and gain agility. The watch has a very original design, bright colors, large numbers, it is comfortable because it is made of silicone so it is ideal for children, they will love it!

In our blog we offer you games to teach time, which can be very useful for your child to learn mathematical operations.

You can choose between  Time Teacher Watches for Children , which are classic wristwatches, with their three hands or one of the Best Kids Digital Watches .

Encourage creativity and problem-solving skills

Encourage your child's creativity and problem-solving skills, so they can apply the concepts of addition and subtraction in everyday situations. Use cut-outs, plasticine, paints and whatever can help to make these mathematical operations simpler and therefore better assimilated by the little ones.

Keep in mind that you can not fall into the common mistake of thinking that the teaching of key subjects such as language and mathematics is only a matter of school, but it is very important that you get involved in the teaching and learning process and take a few minutes daily to check if your child is really learning and if above all is taking it easy, that is, is having fun, because contrary to popular belief, learning to add and subtract does not have to be something boring and that is often seen as a punishment, but as an opportunity to learn while playing.

Final Recommendations

There are many ways to help children feel that mathematics is attractive, some of them are the ones we mentioned above, however, if creativity is not your thing, other ideas you could consider is to make cards in different colors, draw the numbers from 1 to 10 and then cut them out and turn them over, have the child draw two cards and then write the result, the number of operations well done are the points he/she gets and therefore if he/she plays with other children, his/her way to win.

Another recommendation that does not fail and with which many of us surely learned to add and subtract are the fingers. Yes, the most traditional, this does not go out of fashion, what you can do now to make it a little more playful, is that children draw a hand can be on a piece of felt, see that the fingers are well done and number them and so start counting with them. Adding and subtracting in this way is much easier if they can manipulate the fingers, that is, lowering or raising them as you go to add or subtract to calculate the result, as if we were doing it with our own hands.

Last but obviously not least, accompany your child throughout this process and encourage him to continue learning to achieve the goals he has set, you do not have to force him to like math, but you can explain the importance of it for everyday life because thanks to these we can make small daily calculations, such as making our finances work, calculate a number of people, food, hours (you can give as an example a money for snack or even the calculation of the guests at his birthday party. As for the hours, as we already indicated, the Kiddus educational watch is an excellent option).

Conclusion

Don't forget that learning is always an adventure and mathematics can be well controlled if you encourage this knowledge from childhood. The game and the accompaniment are vital at the time of any learning. The best of all is what is also parallel to this: the understanding that it is possible to study without it being tedious and the desire to learn in a playful way, added to the time shared with family and friends.

So cheer up, addition and subtraction are more within reach than you think, with a little creativity and dedication. Try some of these tips that will surely come in handy for that first approach of your little one with numbers and you will see how everything goes better than you expect.